We have some questions about this floating tent

Friends, the world is undergoing a revolution. A camping revolution, that is.

For the past several decades, the experience of camping has remained relatively static, a simple formula involving a tent, the woods, and lots of s’mores. However, with the recent rise of glamping, the camping-supplies market is full of products that are meant to improve upon the experience of camping, to make it more comfortable, exciting, and unexpected.

The inventors of the shoal tent have certainly succeeded in the last of these goals. Sleeping in a tent floating on the water is definitely a unique twist on the old camping formula. And we must admit, we see the appeal. Who hasn’t wanted to spend a night drifting on the water under the stars, Huckleberry Finn-esque?

But sometimes fantasies are best left unrealized. Because in reality, anyone wanting to actually camp in this floating tent would have figure out the answers to a few questions. Such as:

What if it springs a leak?

Some people like to wake themselves up with a cup of coffee, but the shoal tent offers instead the opportunity to wake up sinking, along with your sleeping bag and clothes, into freezing water. Invigorating!

What if you have to pee?

Getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night isn’t the best part of any camping trip, but in a floating tent, it could be a full-on nightmare scenario. Either you have to paddle ashore or take some creative (and potentially drenching) risks. All we can say is: it’s probably best not to have that cup of cocoa before bed.

You awaken, fully dry, to the sound of waves gently lapping at your doorstep. It’s time to return to land. But how, exactly? Does the tent come with an oar? Or an anchor? Isn’t it possible that you’ll wake up stranded in unfamiliar waters? We guess getting stranded on a lake is a new and exciting twist on camping, but not necessarily one we’re eager to try out.

Where do you put your shoes?

Or any of your other wet things, for that matter? There’s no front entranceway at this tent, so any damp articles you’re wearing will have to spend the night with you.

What’s the packing-up process like?

Packing up a tent is nobody’s favourite experience, but the experience could be worse. Like, say, if you had to pack up a wet tent you’ve just dragged from the muddy shore of a lake?

All of that said, for daytime hangs, the shoal tent might be a fun hangout. But we’d think twice before spending the night.

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